Claude Development Guide

This repository contains Xiaolong Yang’s personal academic website hosted on GitHub Pages using Jekyll.

Project Overview

• Type: Personal academic website built with Jekyll and GitHub Pages
• Owner: Xiaolong Yang - Harvard University graduate student
• URL: https://xiaolong-y.github.io
• Domain: Academic portfolio showcasing research, teaching, and publications

Repository Structure

xiaolong-y.github.io/
├── _config.yml              # Jekyll configuration with SEO settings
├── README.md                # Homepage content (serves as index.html)
├── favorite-sentences.md    # Collection of quotes and inspirational text
├── CNAME                    # Custom domain configuration
├── neuron.gif              # Neural network animation for homepage
├── neuron.png              # Static neural network image
├── xl_talk.png             # Profile/presentation image
└── pdfs/                   # Academic documents
    ├── cv_xly_web.pdf      # Current CV
    ├── interecon.pdf       # Research paper
    └── replicate.pdf       # Research paper

Key Features

Design & Styling

• Color Scheme: Flexoki color palette with dark mode support
• Layout: Mobile-first responsive design
• Typography: Clean academic styling with proper hierarchy
• Images: Neural network theme with animated GIF on homepage

Content Sections

1. Homepage (README.md):
   • Personal introduction and academic affiliations
   • Research interests and methodology focus
   • Teaching experience
   • Software development (evalITR R package)
   • Social media links and contact information
2. Favorite Sentences (favorite-sentences.md):
   • Collection of inspirational quotes
   • HTML-styled quote blocks with proper attribution
   • Consistent formatting pattern

Development Guidelines

Content Updates

• Homepage: Edit README.md for main content changes
• Quotes: Edit favorite-sentences.md using the established HTML quote block pattern:

  <div class="quote-block">
    <div class="quote-text">
      "Quote text here" or <em>Latin text here</em>
    </div>
    <div class="quote-author">— Author Name</div>
  </div>
  

Styling Guidelines

• Use Flexoki CSS variables defined at the top of both README.md and favorite-sentences.md
• Maintain responsive design with mobile-first approach
• Follow existing class naming conventions (.quote-block, .quote-text, .quote-author)
• Preserve dark mode support using CSS media queries

File Management

• PDFs should be placed in the pdfs/ directory
• Images should be optimized and use descriptive names
• Maintain the existing file naming convention

SEO Configuration

The site includes comprehensive SEO setup in _config.yml:

• Google Analytics 4 (G-RQC3VEC49K)
• Jekyll SEO plugin
• Social media metadata
• Sitemap generation

Common Tasks

Adding New Quotes

1. Edit favorite-sentences.md
2. Use the established HTML quote block format
3. For Latin quotes, wrap in <em> tags
4. Follow the author attribution pattern

Updating CV

1. Replace pdfs/cv_xly_web.pdf with new version
2. Ensure filename consistency to avoid broken links

Content Updates

1. Edit README.md for homepage changes
2. Maintain the existing CSS styling blocks
3. Preserve responsive image containers and neural network theme

Deployment

• Changes are automatically deployed via GitHub Pages
• No build process required - Jekyll handles compilation
• Test changes locally if needed before pushing

Technical Notes

Jekyll Configuration

• Uses default GitHub Pages Jekyll settings
• SEO plugin enabled for better search engine visibility
• Sitemap automatically generated

Analytics

• Google Analytics 4 tracking enabled
• Track ID: G-RQC3VEC49K

Social Media Integration

• Twitter/X: @yang_appstats (note: different from homepage link @xlypolmeth)
• GitHub: xiaolong-y
• Strava integration for personal interests

Contact Information

• Primary email: yang-xiaolong0406@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
• Academic affiliation: Harvard University Regional Studies - East Asia
• Research focus: Political methodology and applied statistics